Insurance & Reinsurance
William regularly advises insurer clients on coverage, defence and recovery, and settles pleadings on their behalf. Shortly after completing pupillage, he spent six months on part-time secondment at a leading insurance/re-insurance law firm in the City of London, where he gained in-depth experience of a wide range of commercial, property damage and construction disputes worth up to £20 million. He can also advise on coverage in EL/PL, RTA and product liability claims.
Current and recent work for leading global insurers includes:
- Advising on an eight-figure coverage dispute arising from the supply of allegedly defective components to a major infrastructure project.
- Successfully representing the defendant at the trial of a coverage dispute concerning damage to a luxury car alleged to have been caused by vandalism.
- Advising on a complex and long-running subsidence claim, which raises some novel points of law.
- Advising on a six-figure coverage dispute concerning a product liability policy.
- Advising on both coverage and recovery in a series of claims arising from structural defects warranties for new dwellings.
- Representing an insurer which is attempting to recover its outlay arising from a school skiing trip which was cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
- Drafting documents, and attending conferences and mediation, in relation to two substantial Covid-related business interruption insurance claims (as a pupil).
William is a member of the British Insurance Law Association.
Selected Cases
Insurance Fraud
William is developing a busy practice in insurance and motor fraud. He regularly advises clients at all stages of proceedings: from pleadings and pre-action disclosure applications, through interim applications and hearings, to trials on the fast and intermediate tracks.
Current and recent work includes:
- Advising and representing several different insurers in a series of remarkably similar claims by motorcycle delivery riders in London, all of whom are represented by the same firm of solicitors.
- Successfully representing several different insurers at trials of grossly exaggerated claims for vehicle damage.
- Advising and representing an operator of public transport in a series of exaggerated and/or dishonest claims for personal injury, property damage and credit hire.
- Securing the dismissal of a claim by a driver who accepted under cross-examination that he had previously made almost 20 motor and personal injury claims.
- Advising an insurer on a claim for water damage to a luxury car, which appeared to have been dishonestly staged by the car’s owner.
Selected Cases
Credit Hire
William has extensive experience of credit hire work on the fast and intermediate tracks. He acts exclusively for defendant insurers, usually achieving a substantial reduction in the damages payable or having the claim dismissed. In several cases he has identified fraudulent elements during preparation or trial, leading to the claims being struck out or dismissed. He often attends application hearings arising from credit hire claims, typically involving strike out, relief from sanctions, disclosure, wasted costs, or third-party costs orders.
Current and recent work includes:
- Advising and representing the defendant in a claim for hire charges of almost £100,000, which is listed for an Intermediate Track trial following a series of interim applications.
- Defending a claim for almost £80,000 in credit hire charges, disbursements and costs at a fast track trial. Near the end of the hearing, the court gave permission for the claimant to accept a Part 36 offer of c. £7,000 and pay the defendant’s costs of over £9,000.
- Having a credit hire claim for almost £18,000 dismissed with defendant’s costs at a fast track trial, in reliance on an unusual legal argument concerning bailment and pure economic loss.
- Having a claim dismissed on the grounds that the claimant accepted under cross-examination they had never seen any of the documents in the trial bundle before, except for their own inaccurate witness statement.
- Drafting a strike-out application, having previously raised a number of concerns around the claimant’s apparent reliance on forged documents and involvement with organised crime. William is also instructed to attend the application hearing.
- Advising on a wasted costs application following a series of procedural blunders by the claimant and their representatives.
- Attending two application hearings concerning a claimant who believed that their ethical and environmental beliefs entitled them to hire a luxury electric car at many times the basic hire rate.
- Advising on a strike-out application made on the grounds that the claimant had apparently signed their witness statement under duress from their legal representatives. The claimant discontinued shortly before the hearing.
- Successfully applying for permission to disapply QOCS pro-rata and recover over 90% of the Defendant’s costs in a mixed credit hire/personal injury case.
Selected Cases
View full profile »Awards
• Lord Denning Scholarship (Lincoln’s Inn, 2021)
• Senior Advocacy Scholarship (The University of Law, 2021)
• Lord Brougham Scholarship (Lincoln’s Inn, 2020)
Articles
News
Qualifications
• Bar Practice Course (Outstanding); The University of Law
• GDL (Distinction); The University of Law
• MA Music (First Class); King’s College, Cambridge
Memberships
- BILA
- COMBAR
- PIBA
- PNBA
- TECBAR
